


Nothing Changes

by IAmAshamedOfMyFanfics (faraandmera)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friendship, M/M, Romance, falling in love without being dramatic about it, fluff?, mundane fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 08:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10330364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faraandmera/pseuds/IAmAshamedOfMyFanfics
Summary: One day they kiss, it’s nothing special. There aren’t sparks or fireworks, but Chanyeol feels warm in his chest when it happens. Presses his hands against Sehun’s cheeks to pull him forward and repeat the action, and then they don’t talk about it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr version: http://iamashamedofmyfanfics.tumblr.com/post/137681227835/nothing-changes
> 
> originally written in January of 2016 as a gift

Chanyeol is ten years into living on his own. He’s only twenty six, and is so used to the taste of coffee he barely tastes it every morning when he downs a cup. His apartment is only two rooms, really; the bathroom and a room that functions as a livingroom, his room, and the kitchen. His neighbors are nice, have been for as long as he’s known them, but he doesn’t talk to them much. Chanyeol has a few friends and though he loves them to death, he hardly sees them because they’re all busy.

All in all, his life is okay.

Chanyeol sighs, brings the steaming cup of coffee to his lips, and looks down at the papers in front of him. He has an office job, and though he doesn’t like it in any capacity, he’s happy to have a job at all. His job is to look through customer complaints. Luckily, for his sake, he doesn’t have to actually talk to the customers. He loves people, but some people are ridiculous.

“Chanyeol,” The voice of his cubical neighbor- Baekhyun- breaks him from his staring contest with the papers.

“Yeah?” He looks up, faces his friend. They’d gone to high school together. Sometimes they’d joke that they were stuck in shitty jobs and classes together.

“I know you’re not on break, but I’m going to lunch. Want me to bring you back something?” Chanyeol glances at his coffee, thinks about his empty stomach, and nods.

“Bread?”

“Got it.”

It was basically always the same. Everyday Chanyeol woke up in his tiny apartment, washed his face- maybe brushed his hair if he felt like it- got coffee on his way to work and then sat at a desk for six hours. Baekhyun usually brought him something to eat at midday and in turn Chanyeol paid for grilled meet for the two of them after work. They talked about whatever- Baekhyun has a new boyfriend and had been talking about him for months- and then go their separate way’s. Chanyeol usually didn’t do much after work choosing to make up for lack of food with extra sleep. Not that it works.

Life wasn’t bad, Chanyeol didn’t hate it really, but it wasn’t exactly good either. Chanyeol didn’t look forward to the morning, and he doesn’t think much would change that.

The lady next door moves out. At least that’s what people say, but Chanyeol is pretty sure she’s been hospitalized for the same reasons she fell down the stairs a year before. It doesn’t take long for someone else to move in. Poor students or poorly employed adults tend to take advantage of running water and a stove, ignoring the lack of space, and move into the complex.

Chanyeol is a nice guy, and it’s a Saturday, so he greets his new neighbor.

The apartment is pretty much exactly the same as Chanyeol’s. Outside of boxes stacked up in the corner and a fan plugged into the wall, blowing dusty air around and attempting to keep the place cool even with the open window and the summer heat.

“I’m Chanyeol,” Chanyeol grins as he speaks, his voice lifting somewhere in the back of his throat, and he holds out his hand. “Your neighbor.”

“Sehun,” They shakes hands, and Sehun seems at a loss for what do do. “Want, to come in? Theres not really much going on, though.”

“I’m good,” Chanyeol laughs, “I can see the whole thing from here, anyway.”

“Okay.” Sehun almost seems amused at Chanyeols’ comments. The lack of space a joke to him already instead of an annoyance. Maybe he lived somewhere tiny before, Chanyeol wonders if that’s the case.

The next day is a Sunday, and Chanyeol would usually call one of his friends for lunch or dinner, but he already knows most of them have plans. So the only logical thing is to ask the attractive new neighbor if he wants to get lunch.

So that’s what Chanyeol does.

“Sure,” Sehun shrugs, stuffs his feet into his shoes, and follows Chanyeol out of the building. They go to a fast-food restaurant, both silently agreeing they’re too poor to waste money on anything else. The sit in a booth by a window, far away from the counter, and talk.

Sehun is twenty-four. Had lived in another tiny complex, before it was shut down and he was kicked out. Went to college and subsequently dropped out of college so he could work. He has a job at a coffee shop and works arguably the most hours of all it’s employees. Usually he only has Sunday’s free, but had taken Saturday off to move his stuff.

Things Chanyeol doesn’t learn from Sehun telling him, though, are things he remembers better. It’s usually the case, Chanyeol tends to notice random things about people and focus on them. So the fact that Sehun rests his hand against the top of his drinks’ cup. Or that he presses his tongue against his back teeth when he’s thinking or commenting on something he expresses is annoying. Those are the things Chanyeol doesn’t have to ask Sehun to repeat multiple times to remember.

Chanyeol’s schedule and life don’t change suddenly, just because of Sehun. He still works the same hours, still has the same routine. Chanyeol still goes to sleep hours earlier than a person needs to and still lives off of mostly coffee and bread. He just finds that he has another busy friend to bother on day’s off. At least on Sunday’s.

But, Chanyeol think’s, that’s fine. Finds that he likes spending Sunday afternoons at lunch with Sehun, or in one of their apartments downing ice-water and complaining about summer heat.

Finds that, once fall comes around, Sehun hates the cold more than the heat. He ends up dragging Chanyeol along with him on an October Sunday to buy a small heater and makes Chanyeol sit next to him for body-heat even with it. Nearing the end of fall and beginning of winter- in November- Sehun buys Chanyeol a coffee machine for his birthday.

Winter shows Chanyeol that Sehun isn’t huge on holiday’s, despite liking the chance to spend time with people. Thinks the whole thing is pointless, but is glad for it anyway. They end up spending Christmas and then New Years on Sehun’s floor eating take-out.

Spring means that Sehun can finally turn the heater off. And in turn means that he can visit Chanyeol’s apartment, since it’s no longer freezing. Chanyeol asks’ Sehun what he wants for his birthday early on into the season, and get’s Sehun exactly what he asks for. New pillows to replace the flat pieces of fluff he calls pillows.

Summer returns, nothing changes.

Chanyeol is eleven years into living on his own. He’s twenty seven and drinks coffee he’s made every morning before he leaves for work. The taste is just different enough from what he’d been drinking for five years before, that he actually tastes it again. If that’s good or not, he can’t really seem to place.

He works in a cubical in an office, with his friend Baekhyun who’s getting married in a year. Chanyeol had congratulate him and spent and lunch on the weekend with Baekhyun, Baekhyun’s boyfriend, and some of their other friends to celebrate.

On Sunday’s he get’s lunch with Sehun and then then sit in one of their so-called apartments talking about mundane thing’s that they’ve probably talked about many times before. It’s comfortable. Maybe Chanyeol’s heart doesn’t race, but he think’s he’s in love with Sehun.

Nothing changes, though. At least not for a while.

One day they kiss, it’s nothing special. There aren’t sparks or fireworks, but Chanyeol feels warm in his chest when it happens. Presses his hands against Sehun’s cheeks to pull him forward and repeat the action, and then they don’t talk about it. They do, eventually, a week later when Sehun say’s he wants to date Chanyeol.

So they start dating.

More seasons pass, they get closer, but their routines don’t change. Sans the addition of kisses and Chanyeol’s occasional comments that he loves Sehun which are returned in full.

Chanyeol makes Sehun his date to Baekhyun’s wedding and thinks about cheesy movies where couples realize how much they want to get married seeing others get married. Chanyeol doesn’t feel that, though. Not really. Maybe one day he might want to, but the whole thing seems too much. He’s happy for his friend, of course, but doesn’t think about a wedding as all that important to himself personally.

Sehun seems to think the same way. They’re perfectly fine just being together, it helps that their both poor and aren’t in the mindset of wanting to move anyway. They might as well live together as is, but the space between them- different locks, different beds- is something that they still need.

“Hey Sehun?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“But…”

“But?”

“I will seriously fight you for that doughnut you haven’t eaten yet.”

“Just take it you weirdo.”

Nothing really changes. That’s okay, it doesn’t need to. Chanyeol eats an entire doughnut in practically one bite, Sehun say’s it’s gross but smiles anyway, and their okay like this. If they want to change things later, then they will, but they don’t need to yet. So nothing changes.


End file.
